The Normal Life of Laika McNamara

Phobos

Laika froze in both beauty and terror.  She stood still for about twenty seconds, then her coffee shattered to the ground.  Without much thought, Laika dropped all her belongings and rushed towards the flame without any further hesitation. Maybe, just maybe she could save someone, it's the least she could do.  Before she could run boldly, yet foolishly, into the blazing building a strong gargoyle looking man, closer to ape than human, grabbed her and pulled her away from danger.

"Oy, stop that.  Do you want to kill yourself?"  The brute grumbled.  "What were you trying to do anyway?"

"I- I can help," the young girl panted, trying to break free.

"Trust me lady, you ain't be able to help with this mess, I'll assure you."

The men around Laika laughed and mocked her, doing high voices and girly hand motions. Eventually she broke free, just to be lifted again.  There was no escaping the second man's giant hand, a lackey somehow uglier than the first. 

Someone stood across the room. The masked figure was illuminated by the light of the fire. They revealed their arm from their cloak, and aimed a crossbow near the group of men. The bolt hit the wall, only hitting the earring of the man that was holding Laika. He jumped back, dropping her onto the ground, where she landed in the least graceful way possible.

"If you guys are trying to be heroes, you're doing a really lousy job of it."

Now that the person had spoken, it was clear that she was female. She dismissed them with her empty hand. The group left, leaving Laika in the burning building. Laika and the stranger stood staring at each other.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I was going to try and save somebody. I thought that- "

"Look, I'm gonna stop you there. Sorry to say this, but there's nobody else to save."

The woman looked up, through the middle of the skyscraper's spiral staircase.

"Somebody used a bomb to assassinate Patricia Noble, and now this place is gonna go down any minute."

Laika's eyes widened when the woman said her boss's name. The woman looked back at her.

"I'm Phobos, by the way. At this point, we're the only two people in the city, so I might as well get you out of here," she shrugged.

Phobos pulled out a small hourglass, and crushed it between her fingers. Suddenly, they were both a relatively safe distance from the building, still in view of it.